On the radar of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's gun control coalition and various Second Amendment factions, Connecticut is bracing for a surge in campaign spending from both ends of the political spectrum in this midterm election year.

Each side is quietly laying the foundation for an emotionally charged campaign, 18 months after the slaying of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School by a heavily armed gunman.

At the forefront of the clash is Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat in his first term who is the face of the state's tough new gun laws, which were prompted by the shooting.

Raising money to defeat Malloy is New Jersey counterpart and adversary Chris Christie, who has been assailed by gun violence prevention groups for vetoing a bill restricting some high-capacity gun magazines and refusing to meet with parents of the Newtown victims.

"He has time to come here and try to help raise funds for the Republicans, but he can't make time to meet with us for a half hour," said Neil Heslin, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse Lewis, was killed in the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting.

"He accused families of grandstanding," Heslin said. "I just think it was a s----y way to handle it."

The Republican who stands to benefit the most -- at least financially -- from Christie's July 21 fundraising visit to the Greenwich home of a hedge fund mogul is the party's endorsed candidate for governor, Tom Foley.

Foley distanced himself from the cross-Hudson flap and declined to comment on Christie's veto and unwillingness to give the Newtown families an audience.

"New Jersey is a different state," Foley said. "I'm not running for office in New Jersey. I'm focusing on Connecticut."

Signed into law last year by Malloy with overwhelming support from the Legislature, Connecticut's gun legislation package expanded the definition of illegal assault weapons, banned gun magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition and mandated universal background checks for firearms and ammunition purchasers.

"Gov. Malloy's record on guns is clear -- and Connecticut voters know it," said Devon Puglia, a state Democratic Party spokesman. "Our state has the smartest, strictest gun law in the country."

State GOP Chairman Jerry Labriola Jr. stood by the decision to invite Christie to Connecticut.

"The Democrats will say anything to divert attention away from the day-to-day struggles folks are facing under the Obama-Malloy economy, including politicizing the Newtown tragedy," Labriola said. "The purpose of Gov. Christie's visit is straightforward. It is to raise money to defeat Dan Malloy so we can pull Connecticut's economy out of last place. That's what this election is about, and what the Democrats want you to forget."

Foley's opponents on both sides of the aisle knocked him on gun control. Democrats have accused him of pandering to the National Rifle Association, while his GOP primary foe, state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, says that Foley has been shifty on the subject. McKinney's district includes Newtown.

"It sounds like Tom Foley wants to be on both sides of the gun issue," said McKinney, who helped broker the year-old law. "That's not leadership. I had the courage to take a side on the issue and be clear, that's what leaders do. My record speaks for itself."

Democrats claim that Foley and McKinney would repeal the law, something both Republicans say is a distortion.

Characterizing the sanctions as political, Foley said the law failed to set aside adequate resources for treating the underlying cause of so many shootings and other crimes -- mental illness.

"If I had been governor, the bill that would have been in response to what happened in Newtown would have been very different," said Foley, who lost to Malloy by fewer than 6,500 votes in 2010.

"Infringing on the rights of law-abiding citizens isn't going to prevent another Newtown from happening and is more government intervention in our lives," Foley said.

Heslin cannot understand why Christie would not support a stricter ban on high-capacity magazines, saying it that it might have saved his son's life.

"When he was murdered, he was shot in the forehead, right in the hairline," Heslin said. "You know, if a gunman had to reload more frequently, it would have given more people the opportunity to possibly escape or get out."

One of the groups that Heslin has been working with to advance the cause of gun control is Everytown for Gun Safety.

Started by Bloomberg under the name Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the $50 million lobbying machine recently surveyed candidates across the country about whether they support universal background checks, bans on high-capacity gun magazines and a national standard for carrying concealed weapons.

It's all part of a political map being drawn by the group, which acknowledged the strategic importance of Connecticut.

"It's definitely an important state," said Erika Soto Lamb, a spokeswoman for organization.

Lamb said it would be premature to discuss the specific races across the country, however.

"Hopefully, the candidates in Connecticut would tell us where they stand on the public safety measures in the questionnaire," Lamb said.

Bloomberg's sphere of influence extends well beyond the organization. The billionaire funded his own Independence USA super PAC as a lobbying vehicle for gun control advised by former Bloomberg deputy mayor Howard Wolfson, who did not respond to a message seeking comment.

An infusion of outside money from Bloomberg would be welcome, said Po Murray, chairman of the Newtown Action Alliance, a local grassroots organization that supports gun control. Since the group is a 501(c)(4), Murray said there could be certain constraints on the extent of its political activities. The organization is actively exploring alliances with outside political action committees, she said.

"My personal feeling is we need to re-elect governor Malloy to send a very strong message to Connecticut, as well as the nation, that having sensible gun regulation is the right thing to do to protect families and children in this country," Murray said, reiterating that she was speaking as an individual and not for the alliance.

Malloy's political aides were reluctant to broach the topic of outside gun control groups aiding his re-election because of state election laws that prohibit coordination between campaigns and special interest groups.

Two groups that are expected to be a major counterweight to the efforts of Bloomberg are homegrown: the Connecticut Citizens Defense League and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Headquartered three miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School, the NSSF has set fundraising records since the massacre. It declined to comment about its planned political activities.

The defense league, which sued the state over the constitutionality of the gun legislation, won't be making any endorsements in the governor's race until after the Aug. 12 GOP primary, said Lenny Benedetto, the group's vice president.

A number of the group's 9,000-plus members have dogged McKinney on the campaign trail.

"Our membership already knows the way we feel about McKinney," Benedetto said.